Cleaning swab for toilet bowls



Jan. 19, 1954 FARRELL 2,666,223

CLEANING SWAB FOR TOILET BOWLS Filed April 18. 1950 HVVENTUR. Lard 5. Far/e Patented Jan. 19 1954 UNITED" STATES rTENT OFFICE Application April 18, 1950, Serial No. 156,576

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an article of manufacture particularly adapted for use in the home and usable in cleaning bathroom fixtures such 'as'the toilet bowl thereof and taking the form of a swab having'a readily disposable head that is mounted on a handle and automatically releases from the handle when wet.

7 The most important object of the present invention is to provide a cleansing swab having a disposable head made from a pluralityof superimposed layers of highly absorbent material, the layers being gathered together in a relatively small neck for attachment to a handle, whereby, as the device is placed in use, the head will release itself from the handle as soon as the neck portion thereof disintegrates by the action of water thereon.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a cleansing swab having a head that is hollow and provided with openings in the side thereof to receive the water and aid in the detachment of the head from the handle at the gathered neck portion of the hollow head.

More minor objects, including details of construction and specific improvements over my aforesaid disclosure, will be made clear or become apparent as the following specification progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

' Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning swab with disposable head made according to one form of my present invention. I

Fig. 2 is a perspective, stretched-out view illustrating the initial steps in the formation of the swab shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3' is a side elevational view of a cleaning -swab having a disposable head made in accord ance with amodified form of the present invention; and I V Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the interleaved sections of the headportions of the swab of Fig.3 in the initial stages of manufacture thereof.

Ina previous type of a swab assembly, there is a cleansing swab having 'a disposable head that includes a plurality'of elongated strips joined to the handle portionthereof by a line of weakness. The head portion of the swab is rendered somewhat water-proof through the use of an adhesive coating, rendering the head thereof readily disposable by disintegration so that the latter readily separates from the handle in response to the action of water thereon.

The present invention, as will hereinafter become apparent, has also as one of its primary aims, the provision of a handle and a disposable head of material having differing degrees of absorption so that the two portions of the device readily separate duringuse. V

In; the form of my invention shown in Figs..-land 2 of the drawing, there is illustrated a cleaning swab provided with an elongated handle portion It! and a balloon-shaped, hollow disposable head 12 carried by the handle ill at one end thereof. Figure 2 of the drawing, clearly illustrates the way in which these two portions l0 and !2 of the swab are formed, head [2 comprising a plurality of superimposed layers It of initially flat sheet material.

It is noted that layers [4 are polygonal and preferably square as illustrated, and each of the layers must be of a suitable, highly absorbent material, capable of relatively rapid disintegration when subjected to moisture such as water that commonly stands in the bowl portion of a toilet stool. It is preferred that the material forming the layers It, be made of paper or paperlike substance, such as that usually employed in toilet paper and cleansing tissues.

After the layers l4 have been superimposed upon each other as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the four corners I6 thereof are folded in wardly toward each other above the uppermost face of the top layer l4 and held together in face-to-face relationship while the same are gathered into a relatively small neck portion It. It is this bringing together of the corners [B of the superimposed layers I4, that presents the hollow balloon-shaped body 12 illustrated in Fig. l of the drawing. Opposed edges Zil extending from corners l6 present in head 12, a plurality of elongated openings 22 that extend from the neck portion 18 toward the closed base end of head l2.

The handle I!) may be made from any suitable initially fiat, sheet material such as paper or cardboard, and is distinguished in its composition from the layers M by the fact that such material for handle Ill, should not be of a highly absorbent nature and while the same may be made from paper or paper-like substances,,it is preferred that it be incapable of rapid disintegration when subjected to the action of water.

As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the initially fiat sheet of bendable material 26, is rolled into an elongated, substantially cylindrical tube and into as many convolutions as is desired. The marginal edges 26 of the sheet 24 are thereupon interconnected in any suitable manner such as through use of an adhesive substance. The neck portion iii of the head i2 is thereupon extended into one open end of the tubular handle 10 and secured thereto in a suitable manner such as through use of glue or the like. If desired, at the time of rolling the sheet of material 2t into tubular handle it), the neck ill of head [2 may be positioned on the sheet of material 24 and the latter coiled tightly about the neck [8 to aid in the interconnection between handle Ill and head. When the swab just above described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is placed in use, the operator merely grasps the handle Ill and utilizes the head I2 in the toilet bowl to cleanse the same. Hollow head I2 is dipped into the water within the bowl to provide a cleanser and as the device is used, the entire head I2 will gradually become completely saturated with the water and by capillary action, neck I8 will become fully absorbed to a point of disintegration. By virtue of" the number of openings 22 in the hollow head I2, water can readily enter into head i2 and by virtue of the inherent weight of such contained water, neck It will readily break loose from the handle I and fall into the bowl for final disposition. After neck I8 becomes fully saturated with water, it will disintegrate rapidly by the very nature of the material from which layers I4 are made. The user can thereupon dispose of the handle I0 by throwing the same into a waste basket or the like, without the need of subjecting his hands to the water in the toilet bowl. the disposable head I2 is flushed away, there is no need to utilize a brush or other element commonly employed in the bathroom and such unclean objects can be entirely dispensed with when placing the device above described, in use.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, there is illustrated a cleaning swab comprising an elongated handle I00 having a disposable head I02 on one end thereof. The handle I00 is of tubular nature and may be formed in precisely the same manner as handle I0 above described if desired. Head I02 differs substantially however, and includes a pair of separate interconnected sections I04 and I00 respectively.

Section IM constitutes a number of initially flat, polygonal sheets of highly absorbent material of the same character as the material forming sheets M (Figs. 1 and 2) that are first arranged in superimposed relationship and thereupon folded on a median line as at I08. There is thereby presented a plurality of superimposed layers I I0.

The section I00 is likewise formed of the same material and constitutes a number of superimposed layers I I2 thereof. The marginal edge I Id of the section 04 adjacent to and parallel with the line of fold I08, is interleaved or extended between certain layers II2 of section I06 as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing.

After the sections I04 and I06 have been thus associated, the entire body formed of the two sections I04 and I06, is rolled into the elongated body I02, section I06 thereby serving as means of attachment for the section I04 by virtue of the gripping action upon marginal edge I I4 through the rolling step. Substantially all of the tightly rolled section I06 is thereupon extended into one open end of the body I 00 and secured thereto. A relatively small neck II6 forming a part of the head I02 is presented adjacent the handle I00 and the hollow head I02 extending outwardly from the neck I I 6 is of a flared nature as is clear in Fig. 3 of the drawing. Here again, if desired, the sheet of material forming handle I00, may be tightly wound about a substantial portion of the section I05 in the steps of manufacture to aid in the interconnection between handle I60 and head I02. However, a suitable adhesive for joining section I06 with the handle I00 is desirable. It is noted in Fig. 4 of the drawing that the section I04 constitutes an appreciably larger number of layers I I0 than the section I06.

By virtue of this construction, as soon as the head I02 becomes saturated and filled with water during use, it will become sufficiently heavy to Since 4 part from its interleaved connection with section I06. This separation will be enhanced as the water approaches the section I06 and particularly that end of the latter that projects outwardly from handle I00 as shown in Fig. 3. Water will move toward the neck portion IIB by capillary action, or if the user desires to quickly dispose of the section I04, he can dip the neck II6 into the water, thereby causing a more rapid disintegration of that part of the section I06 having contact with the marginal edge II4 of section I04. As soon as the section I06 begins to disintegrate by action of water saturated therein, it will release its grip upon the marginal edge II4 of section I04 and by virtue of the weight of the latter not only because of the large number of layers IIO, but because of the water contained therein, such section I04 will automatically release itself from the handle I00. Here again, the section I04 of head I02 is rendered disposable and the handle portion I00 with its contained section I06, can be thrown away in a separate container if desired. It is seen that in either case, heads I2 and I02 respectively, present eflicient swabs that can be placed in use easily and quickly in an efiicient manner to thoroughly cleanse toilet bowls or other articles wherein the user is reluctant to use his hands or utilize a brush or the like that soon becomes filthy and unsightly and therefore, highly undesirable.

Such advantages as will emanate from utilization of the cleaning swabs hereof and not above set forth, as will fairly come within the spirit of this convention, are manifestly contemplated hereby and it is, therefore, desired to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A cleansing swab comprising an elongated handle and a head, said head including a plurality of initially fiat, identical, superimposed, polygonal layers of imperforate, highly absorbent sheet material capable of immediate disintegration when dipped in water, said layers having a plurality of corners gathered into a neck, presenting a hollow, ballooned body extending from the neck, there being a number of openings in said body adjacent the neck of the head, one of said layers being provided with a patch of adhesive material adjacent each corner thereof respectively, said handle comprising an initially fiat sheet of material coiled at one end thereof around the neck in engagement with said patches of adhesive material for joinder of the handle to the head by adherence of the handle to said one layer, the remaining layers being housed within the said one layer.

LURA B. FARRELL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,047,703 Rapson Dec. 17, 1912 1,767,313 Salvucci June 24, 1930 1,903,664 Yutts Apr. 11, 1933 2,038,958 Reach Apr. 28, 1936 2,104,196 Harmon Jan. 4, 1938 2,301,505 Bates Nov. 10, 1942 2,412,861 Beadle et a1 Dec. 17, 1946 2,428,306 Beagle Sept. 30, 1947 2,560,649 l-lornaday July 17, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 592,155 Germany Feb. 2, 193% 

